Category: New Business Development

One of the projects
I was working on
died a swift death on the weekend
(I prefer swift ends to projects,
rather than long drawn out pain).
This project didn’t work at all.

Which is kind of exciting
because there is absolutely no baggage
left for me to cling to.

I’m looking at…

blue sky.

Blue-sky’ing is a wonderful part
of a new project.
It is when everything is possible.
There are no established processes
or mindsets or emotional history
to contend with.

It can be scary
but it is also very, very exciting.
It is also rare.

If you’re looking at blue sky,
treasure this moment.

My nine year old niece told my mom
that Auntie K never gets scared.
She has too much courage.

I told her
that there is no courage without fear.
Courage is doing something
even though you’re scared.
If it doesn’t scare you,
no courage is needed.
You would simply do.

Right now,
there’s something you need to do
to succeed that scares you.
It could be making a sales pitch
to that potentially big customer.
It could be announcing to strangers
your plans for a new venture.
It could be admitting you are wrong.

Be a hero.
Find the courage to act through the fear.

A loved one has downloaded
and watched
just about every movie
that came out last year.
He is unabashed about it.

He saw Avatar in the theater.

Why?

Because it was meant to be seen in 3D.

He was told
that was the ONLY way to see it.

He doesn’t have a 3D tv.
The pirates aren’t distributing 3D copies.

He paid his money happily.

THAT is the way to fight pirates.
You provide an experience
they can not.

Many more savvy business bloggers
have their lists of predictions posted
for 2010.

I have only one
and this prediction I guarantee
will come true…

Sometime in 2010,
maybe today or tomorrow or 11 months from now,
you’ll be presented
with at least one life changing opportunity.

I can’t predict that
you will take that opportunity
or be ready for it
or even that you will recognize it
for what it is
but I do guarantee
that this opportunity will present itself.

What you do with that opportunity
is up to you.

Have a great 2010!

For two days in a row,
I’ve had issues posting here
at Clientk.
I wish I could say
that it was
because of system or software problems.

Nope.

The reason was 100% user (i.e. my) error.
Sleep and your health is important.
Sacrifice those
and your work will suffer.
You will make silly errors.
You will create roadblocks
on your path to success.

Take care of yourself first.
THEN take care of your goals!

If you’re in new business development
or marketing
or sales
or just about any career,
you’re a creative person.
You get paid for creative solutions.
Creativity is expected.

Creativity has to be nurtured.

The best way that I’ve found
to nurture creativity?

Experience new things.
Change your routine.

Every year,
change is my number one resolution.
A never missed goal
is to go to one new country,
experience one new culture,
a year.
I read new-to-me authors.
I pick up new-to-me skills.
I get off at a new bus stop.

I don’t change everything at once
and often I don’t even make
permanent changes.
I simply want enough change
around me
to force me to think in a new way.
It inspires me.

Make change a resolution for 2010.

The latest version of Heartwild Solitaire
has a story
I wrote specifically for the game.

I didn’t get compensated.
I don’t expect any marketing buzz
from it
(other than the marketing buzz I create).
I did it for one reason
and one reason only…

Because I was asked.

Darek at Orchid Games asked (nicely)
and I said ‘why not?’
I thought it was a cool idea
and I wanted to be a part of it.

If your idea is cool enough,
you WILL get people volunteering
their talent and labor.
If your idea isn’t cool enough,
then why are you launching it?

Nickelback was named
top group of the decade
by Billboard Magazine.

Nickelback was also named
worst band in the world
by the UK’s Word Magazine.

That polarization is the key
to Nickelback’s success.
Listeners either love them
or hate them.
There is no middle ground.

With increased competition
and noise,
there is no room for the middle.
Either be very good
or very bad
or like Nickelback,
be both.

I was promoting
a $5 introduction to romance writing seminar.
I posted all over the web.
I put flyers up in libraries and community centers.

The best result by far
was the post I put on Craig’s List.
The site is hideous
but it drove more attendees to the seminar
than all my other promoting combined.

CL CEO Jim Buckmaster says
“I hear this all the time.
You guys are so primitive, you are like cavemen.
Don’t you have any sense of aesthetic?
But the people I hear it from are
invariably working for firms
that want the job of redoing the site.
In all the complaints and requests
we get from users,
this is never one of them.
Time spent on the site,
the number of people who post
— we’re the leader.
It could be we’re doing one or two things right.”

Spend time on the features
your customers care about.
Craig’s List users don’t care
that it is ugly.
It is quick and easy and it works!

Last week,
I received a terrible review
on one of my books,
my pre-editor hated a short
I’d written,
and
I got an outright rejection
on a full manuscript submission.

It could have been discouraging
but I was lucky.
I still have two manuscripts
out in submission land.
I still have hope
that one of these ‘tickets’
will win.

New product development
is the same way.
As long as there are some products
alive somewhere in the pipeline
(either in concept screeners,
idea screeners,
focus groups,
etc. etc.)
then there is hope.
We can still win.

The trick is to constantly
keep that pipeline full.
Having 3 non-wins last week
means buying at least 3 new tickets this week.

You can’t win if you don’t have a ticket.
These tickets have to be replenished.
Keep hope alive.
Put something in the pipeline.